I want to make a video game and use the core mechanics of Catan, how different would it need to be to not infringe on their trademarks?

Intellectual Property

Location: Canada (Ontario)

Basically I want to make a video game that expands on the core rules of Catan. I'd obviously change the art, and I could change most terminology if that's necessary, but I'm curious if the core rules of a game are protected.

What I want to know is whether the core rules and “recipes” used in Catan are protected.
For example, if my game still used:

  • the same 5 resources (brick, wood, ore, sheep, wheat)
  • the same building types (roads, settlements, cities)
  • the same building costs
  • rolling dice to gain resources
    • won't be keeping the roll 7 discard rule if that's helpful
  • a hex grid
    • Note the grid would be different, no ports, and not necessarily the same number structure you'd normally see with Catan

would that be legally safe if everything else (art, theme, rules text, progression, win conditions, etc) were changed?

The gameplay I’d add on top would be significantly different (e.g., single-player or co-op instead of competitive, roguelike progression, different deck cards, altered dice effects, new abilities, different win/loss structure, etc.), but the underlying resource system and build costs would be the same.

I'm curious how different I need to make the game to be safe legally

Posted Nov 16, 2025, 11:54 PM UTC

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